Coordinate your Content Marketing Strategy with a Content Calendar

by Kelly Jamison

As the new year approaches, you may be starting to think about how to better your business. We all start out with big resolutions that we plan to implement but somewhere along the way we get derailed. Why do you think this is? I’ll tell you in two words: no organization. If you want to be successful for the year ahead, you need to put yourself into a position that will allow your goals to flourish. For business, developing a good content marketing strategy is one of the biggest challenges that we face. One of the best ways to do this is to coordinate your content marketing strategy with a content calendar.

So, where do you begin? The first thing you need to do is go month by month and write down on your content calendar any big events, holidays or important points that you need to remember. This will give you a starting place when looking at your content for the year ahead. It’s also important for you to clearly write out all the goals you have and your initial plan to make them happen. By doing this, you can clearly see what to expect in the next year and start to think about what you want your individual content to be like.

When thinking about your new content to write on your content calendar, keep in mind who your audience is and what they would like to see. Without considering you audience, you may as well not have a content strategy to begin with. Take some time to get to know your audience and feel free to ask them what they would like to see in 2016. After all, what’s the point of having content at all if you have no audience to view what you’ve worked so hard on? Be sure to brush up on your social media listening skills so you to quickly learn what is important to your audience.

Another point to consider when making a content calendar is working on gaps in your schedule. You’re probably busy planning for all the big events and product launches but don’t forget to plan for everything around those. It’s easy to get caught up in what feels like the most important dates of the year, but each and every day needs to be considered. After you’ve taken time to think about all the big dates, make sure you are also taking time to decide what information you’ll be sharing in between those important days of the year.

One of my favorite parts of creating a content calendar is planning for special themes. It’s something that I find people get really excited about, and it looks even better when you’ve taken the time to make something a little more special for your audience. Not only will these themes make it easy for your content curators to develop ideas and posts, but they are also helpful for advertisers and guest contributors.

Finally, before you’re finished getting organized for this year’s content calendar, think about how you plan to release this information. Timing really is everything in the online world and this is something you need to consider if you want your business to be successful. Knowing when your audience is online and the best times of the day to release content can mean the difference between a smooth year and a rocky time ahead.